Chapter 9: The Meet-up

Silverpaw couldn't sleep. What if he was criticised? What if he was credited for the reason of the war? Then, he thought of something that made him scared more than ever. What if he couldn't stop the war. What if he made it worse? His mind was swirling in pressure. He didn't want to be a part of this. But he knew he had to. He moved around in his den, trying to get comfortable. After a bit of struggle, he finally dozed off. Silverpaw was dreaming of how he stopped the war. He was being praised. Then, a big cat attacked him. The cat bit hard on Silverpaw's tail. Then, he woke up seeing that Breezepaw had stepped on his tail.

"Sorry Silverpaw, your tail moved the second I took a step. Are you okay?" Breezepaw meowed.

"Yeah I'm fine," Silverpaw replied. He looked out his den to see that the sky was still dark. "Why are you going out?" Silverpaw asked.

"Oh, um." Breezepaw stuttered. "I was going to a meet-up of apprentices where we had the Gathering." He responded. "You should come! It will be fun!"

"Isn't that kind of against the Warrior code?" Silverpaw asked suspiciously.

"Well... yeah I guess." Breezepaw meowed. "You should still come, though." Silverpaw hesitated a bit.

"Fine I come." Silverpaw meowed.

"Thanks Silverpaw!" Breezepaw meowed excitedly.

"But only for a bit." Silverpaw meowed. Both of the WindClan cats started to head out of the camp and toward the Gathering meeting ground. As they arrived, they saw lots of cats there from all the different clans. Breezepaw looked around for a while when he saw a gray she-cat. He got excited and ran off to her. Looks like Breezepaw likes someone! Silverpaw thought with a slight chuckle. He looked around for a bit when he saw someone familiar. Jaypaw? He started to walk toward him when he saw someone sitting alone on a rock. He stood still as realized it was a she-cat. He couldn't move.

"Oh, Hi Silverpaw! Didn't expect to see you here!" Jaypaw meowed as he started to walk to him. "Silverpaw?" He meowed looking confused. Silverpaw tried to respond but just couldn't. Jaypaw looked at the direction that he was looking at and saw her too. Jaypaw nudged Silverpaw.

"Go talk to her!" Jaypaw meowed. Silverpaw looked at him, then walked slowly toward her. He picked up the pace the closer he got. His pelt was burning. His heart was pounding. He looked behind himself. Jaypaw wasn't there.

"Hi there!" A voice meowed. Silverpaw turned around in surprise. It was the she-cat.

"Uh, Hi." Silverpaw meowed.

"What's your name?" She asked.

"I'm Silverpaw, what about you?" He replied.

"I'm Nightpaw, nice to meet you Silverpaw!"

"Likewise." He meowed.

"Wanna come up? It is a nice view!" Nightpaw asked. Without hesitation he jumped up right next to her. He was just close enough to feel her pelt. It was smooth and warm. He was still a little close.

"Why is your heart beating so fast?" Nightpaw asked.

"No reason!" Silverpaw replied quickly. Nightpaw's expression told Silverpaw that she knew exactly what was going on.

"You're not too bad yourself." Nightpaw meowed somewhat stuttering. They both looked away embarrassed.

"It is going to be daytime soon. Do you want to meet up here tomorrow?" She asked.

"Yeah sure." Silverpaw meowed. They said their goodbyes and Nightpaw started to head home. Silverpaw looked for Breezepaw. He bumped into him just as he was about to take the route home thinking that he left already.

"Oh, Silverpaw! I was just looking for you!" Breezepaw meowed.

"I was too, I think we should head home." Silverpaw meowed.

"Yeah we should." Breezepaw agreed. Silverpaw noticed it was still dark as they walked home. Once they arrived at the camp, they went straight to their den and slept for the rest of the night.